by E A Price
Naturally, her sex chose that moment to flutter and virtually wink at him. While she was annoyed, apparently parts of her were downright flirting in the face of his macho attitude.
Wes sniffed and frowned. Juliet felt a flare of panic. The last thing she needed was Wes realizing she was aroused for the damn sabre-tooth.
“I’ll sort something out. I’m sure you want to be getting home…”
Juliet virtually marched him and the crime scene technician to the door.
Wes creased his brow, and his eyes darted to Ryder suspiciously. “Are you sure I can’t drive you to a hotel?” he asked Juliet.
“Quite sure.”
“Want me to take him with me?” He nodded at Ryder.
Ryder harrumphed and smirked in a way that very definitely said ‘like you could’.
“I’ll be fine, thank you for coming.”
“Oh, ah, you’re welcome.” Wes looked taken aback for a moment. He’d probably never been thanked for attending a robbery. Most people weren’t particularly thankful for those moments, but good manners cost nothing, and none of this was his fault.
“I’ll let you know if I find anything,” he said before she closed the door.
Ryder scowled, and Juliet ignored him as she wandered into the kitchen. Naturally, he followed, watching with disapproval as she fished some blood out of the refrigerator.
“You can’t stay here,” he said, his face a picture of restrained thunder.
“I live here.”
“You’ve been robbed.”
“Exactly. I’ve been robbed – past tense. The robbers are gone. Wes already had the broken window boarded up, and the robbers didn’t take a set of my spare house keys with them. I see no reason to believe they would come back. I’m sure this was just random. It’s partly my own fault for forgetting to set my alarm. If I had, it would have gone off, and my security company would have sent someone to check on me. I have only myself to blame, and I will set the alarm when I go to bed.”
Ryder’s face nearly turned purple with rage. Juliet regarded him steadily over her blood. In truth, he was quite attractive when riled. Well, he was always attractive, but seeing him about to explode was, dare she think it, cute. It was also a welcome distraction from her truly awful meal. Cold blood was not her cup of tea… so to speak.
After nearing boiling point, Ryder seemed to calm a little. “I don’t like how little you care about your safety.”
Juliet set her glass down; after only a few sips she was done. “I don’t like your high-handedness. I don’t like that you announced to one of my subordinates that I would be staying with you. You do not speak for me.”
“I am your mate,” he said through gritted teeth.
“You are not,” she countered softly. “The sooner you realize that the better.”
She passed him, leaving the blood on the counter and slowly climbing the stairs to her room. Her bedroom at least appeared unscathed. It was mainly her living room and study that had taken a beating. She would leave a message for her assistant to purchase a new laptop and tablet and have them sent round to her for when she woke up.
Perhaps the robbers had been up to her room. Perhaps they had been through her closet, her underwear drawer looking for jewelry. She had little and what she had was kept in a wall safe – she checked that before Wes arrived, everything was accounted for.
Feeling an unusual unease, she stripped her bed and put new covers on. As she was doing it, she heard the front door close. She paused briefly and felt a moment of sadness, but that was quickly shooed away as she stuffed her pillow into a cover.
For the best. For the best. She repeated it over and over, for all the good it did.
Finally happy with her bed, she decided to do a little reading on her case before retiring for the day. Another night had passed, and she was still no further along.
A suspicious thought niggled her. What if the break in had something to do with the case? But then, who knew she was working it? So far, all she’d done was talk to Arturo in broad terms, and she doubted he would say anything. No, she was probably being paranoid on that front.
Juliet sat cross-legged on her bed with the case files strewn in front of her. She read all the notes on the interviews with friends and neighbors again, looking for hints, potential chinks she could exploit.
Her lips pursed as she realized that Carrie rarely made phone calls and had kept in touch with most of her friends on a daily basis through the shifter social media site FriendShift. She deplored social media. But then, she was still coming to terms with the internet itself, and she remembered how hard it was for her when TV was first invented. Changes were hard for someone as old as her.
She wasn’t a member of FriendShift – technically vampires could join, but she hadn’t. The SEA had its own page, managed by the public relations department. Ugh – waste of time.
Undoubtedly one of the computer techs at the SEA could check into Carrie’s page history. She already had some printouts from how Carrie’s FriendShift page looked when she died, but Juliet was more interested in the changes and posts she had made over the past six months. According to her friends, she was the same old Carrie – fun and lively as ever – but they did suspect she was hiding something when she moved off campus, which was about three months ago. Six months should cover it, and hopefully find something that changed in Carrie’s life.
“Busy?”
“Holy nosferatu!” Juliet cried throwing the picture she was looking at into the air. If her heart could beat it would be trying to beat itself right out of her chest at that moment.
Ryder smiled at her from the doorway nonchalantly.
“What the… how did you… what don’t you make noise when you walk?! I mean, come on, you’re as big as a house, how can you be so quiet?”
Ryder smiled and walked over to the bed. He sat next to her. The bed dipped alarmingly, and she had to adjust to make sure she didn’t fall into his lap.
He scanned her case files like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“What are you doing here? I thought you left.”
“Humph. I was just having a word with the SEA agent that damn liger left outside. Wanted to make sure he knew he was to stay away from the house. If you’re so stubborn that you won’t leave this place, then neither will I. If you stay, I stay.”
Juliet sighed, trying to ignore the fact that he made her want to smile. “Is there any point in arguing?”
“None.” He picked up a picture of Carrie. “This the dead cougar?”
“Yes - Carrie.”
“Pretty.”
“She was.”
He picked up a picture of her dead body. “Less pretty.”
“Indeed.”
“So what’s the plan? We get some sleep and start again this evening?”
Juliet arched an eyebrow. “So we’re partners now?”
“We’re m…”
“Fine,” she interrupted in exasperation. “Since you’ll probably be stalking me like a big creepy weirdo anyway, we might as well go everywhere together.”
“That’s the spirit.” He tweaked her nose, and gawd help her she giggled before she got the chance to slap her hand over her mouth.
He noticed. He smiled smugly. She talked to cover her embarrassment.
“I bet I can’t even get you out of my house while I sleep.”
“You would win that bet.”
“You’re not sleeping in my room,” she said primly. “I have to draw the line somewhere.”
“Sure.” That didn’t sound very convincing. Perhaps she should lock her bedroom door. Not that it would stop him if he really wanted to get in there.
“You can use one of the guestrooms.”
“Which? The one with the flowery drapes or the one of the pink wallpaper?”
Juliet only paused for a second. “I really should be more concerned by the fact that you’ve been in every room in my house.”
“I haven’t been in t
he attic yet.”
“I stand corrected.”
“Bothers me that strangers have been in your house.”
His eyes flashed, and he growled as he looked around the bedroom, almost daring someone to leap out at them.
Juliet shrugged and patted his hand, unexpectedly trying to comfort him. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re sure nothing was taken from your bedroom?”
“Fairly sure.”
“Have you checked your underwear drawer?” The leering gleam was back in his eye.
“Not yet.”
“Maybe I should…”
“Good night, Ryder.”
He grinned. “Sweet dreams, sweet thing.”
Ryder leaned toward her, and she pulled away. His expression flickered in disappointment for a moment before he rolled off the bed and sauntered out the door. In spite of herself, her eyes were absolutely glued to his butt.
Yep, things weren’t getting any easier. The more time they spent together, the harder it would be to say goodbye. Yet, she wasn’t doing a damn thing to stop anything that was happening. She hadn’t felt this helpless in years.
Chapter Fifteen
Four hundred and forty two years ago
“What the hell is going on here?!” Master was incandescent with rage.
Mary, still shaking, pulled the tatters of her ripped nightdress around her. It was her own fault. She forgot to lock her door, forgot that he was a lingering presence in the castle.
Master had been occupied with a human donor, and he left her to her own devices. She retreated to her bedroom to rest. She had fallen asleep and awoke to Rodrigo stroking her cheek. Mary screamed and clawed at him, fearing she wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Thankfully, he didn’t get any further than ripping her nightgown before Master appeared. It was the first time she’d ever been grateful to see him.
Rodrigo held up his hands, smirking slightly. “My friend, she begged me to come to her room.”
“He’s lying!” cried Mary.
Master flew at Rodrigo. The two of became of blur of roars and claws, thundering through the room, destroying it as they went. Mary scurried to get away from them as they attempted to tear the other to pieces.
They will kill each other she thought… good.
They crashed into a lamp, making the candle flicker. Impulsively, it gave her an idea. She wanted them to burn for what they had done to her; she wanted that whole damn castle to burn to the ground.
Mary knocked it over, sending it flying into the curtain. Flames started licking at it more quickly than she imagined. She tore out of the room, screaming at all the servants to run for their lives, just as she was.
She ran into the night, into the forest wearing nothing but her torn gown. She was free of Master, free of that awful place and she was never going back. She would never allow anyone to drag her back there again. Never, never, never!
After a couple of hours, she finally collapsed, dropping to the ground, still sobbing. It would be dawn soon. She really needed to find a place to sleep during the day. Part of her didn’t care. Part of her just wanted it to end.
Her eyes flickered open as deep growls reached her ears. She saw a couple of black bears approaching.
“Help me,” she murmured. They did.
*
Present day
Juliet woke a couple of hours before sunset, her body shuddering. She used to dream of that night all the time for years after it happened. Now it only came back to taunt her sporadically, whenever she was in turmoil over something else.
It must have been bad this time, why else would Ryder have got into bed with her, holding her body and rocking her gently?
Oh, right. She could think of a couple of other reasons. Jeez, the memory really was a shock to her system.
“I am fine; you need not worry,” she said in what sounded like a small voice even to her ears.
“Sure, that’s why you were moaning.”
“Maybe I was having a good dream.”
“They weren’t that kind of moans,” he said with surety. “You dream a lot for a vampire.”
Juliet rubbed her eyes. “I cannot deny that I am sleeping more than I ever have. I am not sure why.”
Still holding her, he leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed a book that had fallen to the floor. She guessed he dropped it in his haste to rush to her.
“What are you reading?” she asked, wanting to distract him.
“Vampire Memoirs.”
Her nose tickled as she scented the dust and age of the book. “Whose memoirs?” In all her years, she’d never known a vampire to write their memoirs. The elders wouldn’t like it. Nor would the vampire’s self-styled queen, Katherine – her dead master’s mother, who was very much still alive somewhere.
“It’s called Memoirs of Sir Reginald Jameson – a vampire, expect he spells vampire in a fancy pants way with a Y.”
“Well, I’ve never heard of it. Are you sure it’s genuine?”
“Apparently I have one of the few remaining copies on earth. Your vampy friends destroyed the others, so this one was hidden away.”
“Why would they destroy it?” Juliet struggled to sit up, wanting to get a better look at the book. “What does it say?”
“Not much,” chuckled Ryder, swinging her round so they could read the book together, but so that she was still firmly in his lap. “It’s kind of hard to read and he basically just repeats how amazing he is every few pages. No wonder they burned all the copies. I had no idea vampires were actually created by a witch, though.”
“I don’t believe it’s that big of a secret,” she said slowly and nervously. “Katherine was a very powerful dark witch, and she was trying to save her sons.”
She didn’t like to talk about the queen. Juliet imagined if Katherine found out who she was and the part she played in Master’s death, the pain Master put her through would pale significantly compared to the hell that would rain down on her. Juliet preferred to forget about them entirely.
“Are they still alive? The witch and her sons.”
Juliet looked away. “Supposedly,” she said, not wanting to get too drawn into that subject, “but they’d be over a thousand years old now, probably nearly two thousand.”
“Is that unusual?”
“It is,” she replied cautiously. “We can live forever, but most tend to either be killed or kill themselves before the one thousand mark.”
“I guess living forever isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“Indeed. Where did you even get that book?”
“Secret.” He grinned.
“Fine. Just don’t believe everything you read.”
“Well, this guy reckoned he could have slept with any woman he wanted just by clicking his fingers. But I think that might be ego talking.”
“I don’t know; there’s something about being a vampire that makes someone attractive. Makes them… irresistible.” She bit her lip, fully aware that if she said the word, he would pounce on her that very moment. The word danced on the end of her tongue, desperate to be spoken, desperate to feel him pressing inside her body, desperate to taste his blood…
His eyes hooded. “Tell me about it. When it comes to you, I believe you can snap your dainty little fingers and make any guy fall to his knees and beg for mercy. But this guy, he would put them off when he opened his mouth.”
Ryder carefully saved his place with a bookmark. “But enough of your flirting. In case you hadn’t forgotten, we have a murderer to catch. It’s nearly sunset; you better get dressed.”
He got out of bed, set her on her feet and tweaked her nose. Holding his head up, he sauntered out the room. She gaped at him. Great. Basic seduction technique – leave them wanting more. Dracula help her, she did.
Chapter Sixteen
“Thank you, Emily. E-mail me the information on her financials. Oh, ah, I’m not sure. I’ll let you know.”
Juliet rang off, brushing away Em
ily’s demand to know when Juliet was coming in to work, and faced Ryder, currently perusing the case files. She really ought to stop him. He was a civilian. But then, she could justify it by the fact that the SEA did hire civilian consultants. Though they were usually experts or investigators, rather than a house- breaking wannabe suitor. But she did actually like having him around. Really she did need help, that’s all it was. The fact that he also made her feel secure and warm and fuzzy and possessed the sexiest ass ever known to man, woman, shifter or vampire was another matter.
“That was my assistant,” she explained. “One of the technicians at the SEA discovered that just under six months ago, Carrie’s FriendShift page showed her to be in a relationship. Then one day she changed it to ‘it’s complicated’, and two days later she became single again.”
“Fucking FriendShift,” muttered Ryder.
“Not a social media fan, I take it.”
“Sure, if I wanted to be stalked, I’d join.”
Juliet refrained from making the comment that she wasn’t a member and yet he was stalking her.
“Well, Carrie was a fan, and at least I have confirmation that she has a recent ex-boyfriend that none of her friends thought to mention. It’s not much, but I’ll talk to Zane and see if he has found anything in her e-mails or online posts or perhaps pictures she posted to the page that would indicate who it was.”
“Hmmm.” Ryder looked up suspiciously. “Who’s Zane?”
“Just an investigator helping me.”
Ryder let out a low growl, and she rolled her eyes. “A bear shifter who is already happily mated and only has eyes for his mate.”
He grunted and nodded, slightly mollified and went back to perusing. She should not find that funny and definitely not sweet. No, she hated possessiveness in males, so why did her insides go gooey when he did silly little things like that?
“Zane is quite tenacious; I’m sure he’ll find the boyfriend.”
Ryder nodded. “Is the mystery ex-boyfriend your only suspect?”
“Sort of.”
His eyes narrowed. “Sort of?”
